St George’s Singers, Bach: Mass in B Minor

at the Monastery

What’s on at the Monastery? Alongside our regular open days, we also run an exciting programme of events, activities, talks, concerts and performances. Use the search bar below to discover what's on and what's coming soon at The Monastery.

The Monastery aims to be Open Every Day between 11am- 4pm (except Saturdays) with free entry & free parking. Visitors are most welcome to call in between 11 and 4pm and visit the Heritage Corner but we cannot guarantee that the Great Nave will always be available.

Special Heritage & Visitor Open Days are held all year round on every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday when the Great Nave, Café & Shop are open between 11 and 4pm. Tours and talks can also be pre-booked on these open days. Please note, the Nave is closed on Monday 20th May and on Sunday 12th May due to ticketed events taking place (though there should be accompanied access to the Nave from around 1-2pm on Sunday 12th May during the event lunch break).

A regular programme of community, health, well-being and family activities is also available for everyone to enjoy. Our affordable Community Rooms can be pre-booked for use 7 days of the week between 9am and 5.30pm.

March 31 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

£7 - £16£7 - £16

St George’s Singers and Musical Director Neil Taylor are delighted to be performing Bach’s masterpiece again and thrilled that the line-up of five fine soloists includes former Assistant Musical Director Marcus Farnsworth who is now very much in demand at home and abroad as an operatic bass and recitalist. With the Northern Baroque Orchestra in the magnificent Gorton Monastery this is going to be a memorable concert.

Few people today would disagree much with this view of Hans Georg Nägeli, the first publisher of Bach’s B minor Mass, despite the almost 200 years of musical history that have passed since he put it forward. It now seems incredible that 150 years ago Bach’s music had fallen out of fashion and was known to only a few specialists. It might have been lost to us altogether if it was not for the efforts of Felix Mendelssohn who recognised Bach’s genius and brought his works back to the attention of a wider public.